M&G Real Estate has acquired the London headquarters of media and financial data company Bloomberg for £92.5 mln (€127 mln).
M&G Real Estate has acquired the London headquarters of media and financial data company Bloomberg for £92.5 mln (€127 mln).
The transaction involved Legal & General Property (LGP) selling the freehold ground lease to the site which it has owned for over 50 years. LGP and M&G Real Estate are two of the UK's largest institutional investors in commercial property.
A Bloomberg subsidiary retains the long leasehold of the Bloomberg Place site, which will house the company’s new European headquarters in the larger of the scheme’s two buildings.
The office development in the City of London is designed by architects Foster + Partners. The 69,700 m2 complex is situated close to Cannon Street, Mansion House, Monument and St Paul’s stations, providing access to the Circle, District, Northern, Waterloo & City and Central lines. The development is due to complete in 2016.
'We have significant capital to invest in deals of this nature for our long-income funds,' said Shailendra Shah, director of investment management at M&G Real Estate. 'Investments of this scale and quality in the heart of the City of London rarely come to market, particularly those with such a strong covenant from a long-term leaseholder. With a tenant committed in this structure, this deal will provide long-term, stable income growth for our investors.'
Legal & General has held the site since 1962 when it was its headquarters. Michael Barrie, director of fund management at Legal & General Property, said: 'Playing a significant role in the creation of Bloomberg's transformational scheme, we obtained planning consent for the site's redevelopment in 2006 before selling our long leasehold interest in 2010.
''The sale of the freehold to M&G Real Estate therefore brings a successful conclusion to our ownership of the site during which the property has performed incredibly strongly for us, including delivering an annual return of 18% over the last five years,' Barrie added.
Nigel Fox from Capital Real Estate Partners acted on behalf of Legal & General Property.